


All in good Spirits

by nipsu



Category: SKAM (Norway)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Ghosts, Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Angst, Bruises, Fluff and Angst, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Major Character Injury, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Period-Typical Homophobia, don't fight me on this, even is a ravenclaw, isak is a ghost, who hangs around in hogwarts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-10
Updated: 2018-10-21
Packaged: 2019-07-10 20:13:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15956666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nipsu/pseuds/nipsu
Summary: Even is a sixth year Ravenclaw, when his friends discover a new ghost in the castle his interest is piqued and before he knows it, feelings are involved.Isak is a ghost who's been around for a while and likes to hang out in bathrooms. Preferably ones without any living people in it.





	1. The prefects' bathroom

**Author's Note:**

> Even returns to Hogwarts for another school year, one that has many things in store for him. 
> 
> +
> 
> I hope you enjoy this first chapter, I've not written a Hogwarts AU before but just like Even I got quite hung up on Isak as a ghost.

It was the third day of the school year and Even was still adjusting big time. He had spent the summer with his parents in Norway and they even took a little trip to Sweden. Getting back into the muggle world was a hard transition after a Hogwarts school year, but the transition back to school was equally difficult. Luckily Even had his friends in Ravenclaw to make that a lot easier. 

At the dinner table in the Great Hall Adam and Mutta had excused themselves to go to the bathroom, and after Even finished his food he started the journey up the stairs to the Ravenclaw common room. 

“I don’t think I’ll ever be ready for my N.E.W.T’s.” Elias muttered with a textbook on his lap. He flipped through the thick pages while his hand absentmindedly stroked the back of his head. 

“Golpalott’s Third Law seems fun…” 

“You know it’s not, Even. Fuck potions, sixth year is supposed to be fun. Now we’ve got to write essays on the Moonstone and shit.” Elias complained. 

“Don’t want to be in those advanced classes anymore?” Even asked. 

“No fuck, I do… It’s just diffi-” Elias was cut off by the door barging open. 

 

“Guys!” “You have to-” “Unbelievable!” Adam and Mutta looked like they ran up the spiral staircase as if their lives had depended on it. 

“Have you guys been in the bathroom all this time?” Even asked, sitting up from his slouching position on the couch. 

“No,” Mutta said, giving Adam a glance, “Adam got the riddle wrong three times.” 

“But that’s not why we’re here.” Adam rubbed his two hands together and sat on the couch in between Elias and Even. He mentioned them to come closer. With a low voice he said, “We were in the prefects bathroom.” 

On the couch opposite of them Mutta waggled his eyebrows. “We think…” A dramatic pause, hands in front of him as if to prepare the others for what he is about to say, “We think we saw a new ghost.” 

“What?” Elias huffed. 

“No really.” Adam said, still in a low voice.

“What were you doing up there then?” Even asked. The two of them had gotten in trouble countless times in their previous years, so Even wasn’t really surprised, but the prefects’ bathroom? Even couldn’t really think of a reason why they had sneaked into there. 

Mutta grinned, “You know we chilled with Moaning Myrtle a couple times last year, and we heard she likes hanging around there so we wanted to pay here a visit. Let her know we’re back!” 

Elias huffed out a laugh, shaking his head a bit. 

Myrtle had been a constant topic of conversation last year, Adam and Mutta enamoured with her ‘charm’ for some reason. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that she’s a ghost, or maybe with Myrtle’s interest in them, which she liked to express excessively. 

“We know about Myrtle though, she’s not new.” Even asked. 

“Yeah yeah, let us finish.”

“So, we broke in, and sure enough she was there. We heard her voice, which was weird. We first thought there was a prefect in the bathroom she was talking to, so we tried to stay really quiet.”

“Which you were great at…” Mutta scoffed at Adam. 

“As if it had mattered!” Adam raised his voice a little, obviously annoyed with Mutta. 

“He wouldn’t have vanished if you hadn’t stepped in that puddle.” Mutta pushed himself off the couch. Even had a feeling the two hadn’t quite gotten to ‘chilling with Myrtle’ today.

“Well he wouldn’t have talked to us, you’re stupid if you really believe that.” Adam said. 

Lost, Even asked who ‘he’ was.

“Sorry, I’ll finish the story.” Adam said, voice quiet again as Mutta sat back down on the couch. 

“We rounded the corner to the bathtub, and there she was with her back to us. In the bath. Only, she wasn’t alone. Next to her was another ghost.” Adam looked at Elias and Even, his eyes wide in suspense. “He looked so strange, about the same age as Myrtle. We immediately knew it wasn’t any of the other ghosts in the castle. He was so young! He was wearing old clothes though, something like a suit, and nothing like today. I think he’s been dead for more than a hundred years. Anyway, then I stepped in that puddle… and he jumped out the window. Like, within 2 seconds he was gone, we didn’t even see his face.”

“Myrtle was so shocked! She shouted after him, she wasn’t mad at us though,” Mutta laughed. “But I think they were having a pretty serious conversation because she was quiet, and she’s never quiet. We left pretty soon afterwards, wanting to tell you guys.” 

Adam nodded at Mutta and glanced across the room, seeing if anyone had overheard them. It seemed no one was paying attention. 

“Are you sure he’s not a regular ghost from the castle?” Even asked. “How would a hundred year old ghost be unknown to anyone?”

“Do you know any other ghosts other than Myrtle that are our age? The Grey Lady looks kind of young, but it’s obviously not her. As for the rest, last year on Nearly Headless Nick’s Deathday party there wasn’t anyone like him.”

Even was still pretty sceptical, but also intrigued. “Are you gonna go back?” 

“Not now.” Adam said. “But that conversation between them seemed far from over so he must be back. We think we’re gonna go tomorrow.” 

“Can I join?”

“Ahhhh I see, you want a piece of that ghost boy, eh?” Mutta laughed, slapping Even’s shoulder. 

“I just want to confirm if it’s an unknown ghost, that’s all.”

Adam smiled at him, “You can join, for sure. Wouldn’t it be cool if we discovered him?” He stood up from the couch and gathered his discarded robe from the floor. Even wasn’t sure how you could discover a person. “Then we’ll meet after class.” He saluted them and disappeared into his dorm. 

“Wanna chill with Yousef and Mikael in the courtyard?” Mutta asked Elias and Even. 

“Sure.” 

Even hadn’t seen their Gryffindor friends yet since he returned to Hogwarts. The start of their sixth year being busy for all of them. 

+

Even’s transfiguration class seemed to take a lot longer than he would have liked and he couldn’t get the new spell right. Professor Patil shot him a disappointed glare during his third attempt but his mind wasn’t set to it. He’d contemplated going to the library during his break hour to find something on ghosts, but Mikael got him distracted with watching first-years. 

Yesterday evening with his friends had been a lot of fun, and Even got his head out of his schoolwork a bit. Though, with every hour passing he thought less of his schoolwork and more about what he was doing this afternoon. 

His mind was like roulette, going through all the ghosts Even had ever seen. There were the house ghosts, the nuns, the knights, Peeves didn’t count, and Myrtle herself. None of the old ghosts attending Nick’s deathdays even remotely fit the description Mutta and Adam gave him. 

Could they really have seen a new ghost? Frowning, Even messed up his transfiguration spell yet another time and Yousef gave him a concerned look. 

“What’s up with you? You’re never bad at this subject.” 

“I’m just- thinking, I guess.” Was he allowed to tell their secret? He was one of their best friends after all. “I’m going to the prefects’ bathroom with Mutta and Adam after class.”

“What? You’re breaking in?” Yousef’s hand landed on his shoulder. 

“Mister Acar, I suggest you resume your spell.” Professor Patil hovered over their table with a piercing stare. 

“Right.” Yousef mumbled, and that was the end of their conversation. 

After they were excused Even avoided Yousef’s questioning looks and went up to the Ravenclaw common room. It was a bit pathetic to flee there so quickly as Yousef wasn’t allowed inside, but Even didn’t know how to answer his stares. 

Inside the common room Adam was already there, sporting a new bruise from duelling club. “Look at this, Sana hit me pretty well.”

“Why do you keep duelling her? You know she’ll always win.” Even flung his robe on his bed and toed of his shoes, stretching out. “Transfiguration was a pain, man. Kept thinking about ghosts.” 

“I know right!” Adam hopped on the bed next to him. “Mutta will be here any second.”  
It was empty in their common room. Books lay deserted, some black robes here and there. Most of those belonged to students who were outside or in Hogsmeade. It felt wrong being inside somehow, knowing he should enjoy the last bits of the late summer here. But he was determined. Even if the chances of seeing the ghost were very slim, the inkling of an adventure lured him into trying. 

Sure enough Mutta entered the common room not much later, stars in his eyes. “Let’s do this.”

+

The door to the prefects’ bathroom had a protection spell against Alohomora, so Mutta had to pick the lock manually. Even balled his hands together in anticipation, but it took Mutta less than a minute. 

Adam had made them take off their shoes in the dorms so they wouldn’t make any noise like he did last time, so they shuffled nervously toward the stalls. Water was running, or so it seemed. With his finger against his lips Adam led the way around the stalls, until Even could see the bath. 

The mermaid in the glass had its eyes closed and water swayed silently around her. Warm light flooded through the coloured glass. Underneath the window were the faucets, Even had never seen anything like it. Getting a little closer, he could see there was no water running, despite the sound of it echoing through the bathroom. 

Even slowly lowered his eyes, daring to look at what (or rather, who) was in the bathtub. 

Closest to him was a slender girl with ponytails, undoubtedly Myrtle. Her head was leaning to the side while she slowly twirled one ponytail through her fingers. Her white glow didn’t fit in with the warm tones of the light, and she seemed to float above the bath tiles. In a low voice she spoke to the ghost sitting in front of her. 

He was hidden from Even’s view slightly as Myrtle was sitting directly in front of him, but he could make out some of the ghost through Myrtle’s translucent form. He had a slightly colder tone of white than Myrtle, almost as if he was blue. As Myrtle swayed from left to right during their conversation Even could make out his curly, light hair. 

“This place always reminds me of him. Sooo sad he died…” The way she spoke made every word feel almost sarcastic, but Even could hear the pain in there somewhere. 

“I think you would have liked him.” She giggled while floating up and down in the tub.

“Are you talking about Cedric?” The boy spoke, even quieter than Myrtle. 

In contradiction to the cold undertones of his form, his voice was warm. It had an age to it, how he treated each vowel with care. The letters slipped over his tongue like sand through fingers, and it echoed through the empty space. 

“When he died I waited here, hoping he’d come back to me. Together, at last, in death.” Myrtle said wistfully. “But he never did.”

“Perhaps you scared him off while creeping on him in here, he did not want to come back.” 

“I don’t blame him, who would ever want to be with me?” Wailing the last syllable, she suddenly jumped up from the bath and darted down the toilet only to stick her head up through it right after. 

That left the ghost boy alone in the tub. Even’s heart beat erratically in his chest, and he and the others moved back behind the stalls, hoping he hadn’t seen them. They had seen him though, and Even stared at the walls of the toilet stall wishing he could see through them just to see the ghosts’ face a little longer. 

“How long has it been then? Since you started hanging out in here?” The boy spoke again, and Even had to restrain himself mentally from peeking around the stall. 

“23 years.” 

“Then why are you still around?” 

“I don’t know…” She dragged her words. “I like being a ghost, better dead than alive.”

Even heard splashing and slowly, he peeked around the stall. Myrtle was back in the tub, on her back, while the boy watched her with an empty expression. 

“Why are we so miserable?” 

“Because we died miserable.”

Staring at the pair, Even wondered what had happened to the boy for him to come back. Being hidden away in the castle couldn’t be a very interesting way to spend your afterlife. A part of Even ached for a time turner to take him back before the boy’s life had ended and save him from his fate. He sighed, feeling so helpless just standing there hiding from him. 

Immediately after Even realised his mistake of sighing rather loudly, time slowed down. As their eyes met for a split second Even felt himself suffocating, struggling to breathe underwater. 

Then everything sped up. Adam yanked him away from the edge, but it was too late. Myrtle turned around in a millisecond and she let out an incredibly high wailing sound. Her eyes were trained on the three boys and she suddenly towered over them. 

“Isak! Someone has come to visit us!” 

Even’s eyes shot back at the ghost still sitting in the empty tub. 

Isak.

Even couldn’t think of a better fitting name. 

“Hello boys,” Myrtle hovered before them, blocking Even once again from seeing Isak. “You’re new.” She said to him in a honeyed voice. 

“Uhh, hi.” Even said, breathlessly. He tried to push her away out of instinct, but found his arm going right through her, a cold feeling seeping through him causing goosebumps. Confused, Even stepped around her. 

Isak looked at him, eyes wide and frightened, before flinging himself through the coloured glass. A shattering sound erupted from his escape, but there was no physical evidence that he’d ever been there with them. 

The mermaid, now awakened, looked back at Even. Her eyes were green, and for a moment Even thought he saw a tear roll down her cheek. Then she turned her back on him and the light that engulfed the room slipped away.


	2. A first meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even can't keep his mind away from Isak, but others tell him that might be not so wise. Nonetheless, he ventures out into another bathroom adventure...

The following days Even piled up every book on ghosts he could find and brought them up to his room. There he read about the dead until the stars were out and everybody was asleep. Why had no one heard of this ghost? The story of Myrtles death was famous; it isn’t every day a Hogwarts student dies.

The boy, Isak, with his light curling hair and soft looking lips, remained a mystery.

It wasn’t until he sat down with Yousef in the library that he became a little wiser.

“Hey Even, can I ask you something?” Yousef said. They were hidden away in the back of the library where they could speak normally.

“Of course.”

“Why were you and the boys in the prefects’ bathroom the other day?”

Even bites his lip, and he contemplates. “We were visiting Moaning Myrtle.” It wasn’t exactly a lie, but it certainly wasn’t why Even had been fidgety all week.

“What’d she do?”

“Uh… nothing special- look, I really don’t know if I should be telling you this because Adam and Mutta were really secretive about it.”

Yousef gave him a serious look but he didn’t say anything. Even was grateful.

“We saw a ghost that we’ve never seen before. He was with Myrtle in the bathroom. They’re about the same age but I’ve not found anything on his death or existence, and believe me I’ve looked.”

“Have you considered maybe telling a professor?”

“I don’t think this is the sort of thing we should be concerning ourselves with…” Even admitted. His schoolwork was already beginning to glower at him from his desk after days of neglect.

“Well, I don’t think so either,” Yousef said, and Even started doubting his decision to tell him. “but maybe you could ask Sana. She’s a prefect. If you say he hangs around in their bathroom perhaps she’s seen him before?”

Even stared at him blankly. “Sana? Won’t she tell Headmaster McGonnagall because she is a prefect?”

“Sana wouldn’t rat you out. Trust me.” Yousef patted his arm.

+

As Even reached their common room that evening he desperately hoped Sana was in there. Sana hadn’t been a prefect for very long, so maybe it was a little farfetched. Although, Even truly believed Sana was capable of anything and wouldn’t put it past her to have known Isak since she started Hogwarts.

The common room door stopped him.

“What is always coming but never arrives?” An airy voice filled the.

On days where he was in a hurry, or a little nervous like he was today, Even really despised that entrance. “I guess tomorrow.”

“You guess?”

“No, I know. It’s tomorrow, now let me in!”

The door swung open almost mockingly slow and revealed the round space. Even stepped in and let his eyes trail the room. A couple of Ravenclaws were scattered around minding their business, but Sana wasn’t among them. Disheartened, Even sank down on one of the empty couches and eavesdropped on another conversation.

“I just heard Hagrid and McGonagall talk about investigating the Black Lake.” A third year told some of her friends, who were hunched over in curiosity.

“It was like the third time Hagrid had to fish something out, this time it was someone’s robes.”

“Yeah, they were Michelle’s, she’s in Hufflepuff. She said she didn’t do it on purpose.” Another said.

“Why would you do that on purpose? There’s clearly something going on. McGonnagall was telling Hagrid she would get a curse-breaker.”

“No she didn’t, there’s not even a curse.”

“How do you know that, Amy?”

“Whatever, Michelle probably just threw them in to draw attention…” One of the girls stormed through the girls’ dormitory and Even’s eyes followed her.

It was then that he saw Sana, in her wide black robes, making her way to the dormitory herself.

“Hey Sana!” Even all but sprung from the couch. “Can I talk to you about something?” She turned around and flashed him a knowing smile.

“He likes to keep to himself, Even, I don’t know if I can help you.”

“Who are you talking about? I haven’t even-”

“Isak, the ghost you were going to ask me about.” She looked at him with narrowed eyes.

“How…?” Even huffed out a breath and rubbed the back of his head.

Sana just smiled at him again and crossed her arms over one another. “You’re forgetting that I’ve got a psychic hijab, Even.”

“We’re in a school for magic, Sana. Besides, you hate Divination.”

“Then I suppose Yousef told me…” She pursed her lips and looked out the window.

Shaking his head Even made his way over to lean against the doorpost. “What did you mean Isak likes to keep to himself?”

Sana turned her eyes to him again. “It means I don’t think it’s wise if you go out of your way looking for him.”

“Why not?”

“Let’s go somewhere a little quieter.”

In a flurry of robes she darted out the common room. Even followed her hastily. All the way down the spiral staircase, Sana manoeuvred through a series of narrow, deserted corridors. She sat down on an old looking bench that, unlike the rest of the place, didn’t have any dust on it.

“Let me tell you about Isak. I met him during Quidditch practice, when Vilde accidentally teleported the Quaffle into the Black Lake. We went to fetch it and while she was busy I looked around and suddenly felt cold, almost as if I was underwater.”

Even thought about the curse those third years were talking about earlier.

“And then I saw him, he was staring at me from the lake as if we had awakened him with that Quaffle.” She chuckled. “We first spoke when I became a prefect. That was more than a year later. I was in the bathroom when something happened to Vilde near the lake. He came to alert me.”

As Even listened to Sana he felt more and more compelled to be with Isak. Even wanted to know what he was like, if he wanted to stay hidden away from everyone else, why did he break his silence to seek Sana out when someone he didn’t know was in danger?

“Why become a ghost when he’s so shy? What’s keeping him here?” Even spoke before he could stop himself, desperate to get his hands on the cogs turning in Isak’s brain.

“I can’t answer that. We’ve only spoken a couple times and when we do its only small comments or remarks. He told me about his time in Hogwarts and it didn’t sound very pleasant but I’m not in a position to make assumptions on that, Even.”

“Do you still speak to him now?”

Sana looked at him and frowned a little. “Why do you want to know these things?”

I caught Even off guard, “Because- I suppose I’m just intrigued by him…?” He really didn’t know what pulled his interest toward Isak so much. His supposedly tragic death, his voice when he spoke to Myrtle in the bathroom, or the way he had looked Even in the eye for those two seconds and plunged Even in deep waters that somehow still surrounded him.

Sana stood up slowly. “I’m not sure I support your interest in him, Even, but I know I can’t do much to change your mind. Please just remind yourself of what Isak is. It might feel like he’s still here, but he’s not.”

+

Even reminded himself of that pretty much every day. When he was sitting in the great hall with his friends and ‘the new ghost’ became their topic of conversation again.

They spoke of him as if he wasn’t a person, and Even had to keep himself in line not to yell at his friends every time they reduced Isak to nothing but an yet another interesting feature of Hogwarts. He was a person in every sense.

Except alive, and Even had to remind himself of that more often than he’d like.

+

On a late night two months into the new school year Even found himself wandering the castle. He knew he was over his curfew but in a moment of brief panic when he thought the figure portrayed in the stained glass next to the Ravenclaw common room entrance looked a little like Isak, he didn’t answer the riddle correctly. He argued with the door but it didn’t budge. It was already late and sitting around until someone came along to solve it didn’t look appealing, so he just descended down the stairs again.

Before he knew it he had wandered right to the door of the girls bathroom Myrtle occupied often. After the incident in 1992 with the Chamber of Secrets she visited much less frequently, and students avoided it even more than before.

Even had never been in the girls bathroom either, but he had to end up here eventually. The bathroom was connected to ghosts, to Myrtle, and therefore to Isak, and Even had long past the point where he denied he was more than a little bit obsessed with the boy.

So, as Even pushed the door open, every fibre in his body was tense with anticipation. What if because no one ever came here, it was the perfect spot for Isak to be? Even, stupidly, got his hopes real high up for that slim chance to be true.

Inside, the light of the moon illuminated the deserted stalls and sinks. Even absentmindedly ran his fingers over the little snake on the faucet while he looked around. It seemed empty of any life, or death, as Even searched for the latter.

So he sat down on one of the benches near the window and pulled his legs up to his chest, letting the hope and anticipation he had slowly leave his body. Why was he so stupid, to let a boy lead him to this point where he was almost shivering in an abandoned girls’ bathroom instead of sleeping in his bed? Sighing, he looked down into his lap.

“I’m an idiot.” He whispered into the echoing room. The sound bounced off the tiles and a door to one of the toilet stalls creaked, startling Even. His eyes shot up, but when he found no one, he scrambled up and rushed toward the exit. He wasn’t supposed to be here.

He rounded the sinks when he stole one last glance into the bathroom, but he immediately stilled. Even sucked in his breath and leaned heavily on the old sink behind him. The hesitant form of a ghost hovered at the other end of the room.

He was sitting high up on the ledge of the round window. His hair and clothes had not changed since Even has seen him for the first time, neither had his expression. He stared back at Even with large deer-in-the-headlight eyes and his body was completely void of movement.

More than ten seconds must have passed as they stared at each other, both scared to move more than an inch or breathe in or out too harshly. For Even that was becoming a more pressing problem each passing second.

Eventually, he had to pull fresh air into his lungs, and when he did he almost panted to catch his breath. It lifted the thick tension in the air a little, but Even still feared Isak would flee like before. Hesitantly, he shifted his weight from the bathroom sink to his feet again, trying to keep his expression and posture as open, non-threatening as possible.

“…Hi.” Even started, and his voice finally caused Isak to stir, who sat up a little.

He didn’t say anything back, as Even had expected. Sana had prepared him for that.

“My name is Even,” he took a tentative step forward. “You’re Isak, right?”

Surprisingly, he nodded ever so slightly. Even was impressed. He moved forward another step, and smiled up at Isak. Truthfully, he didn’t know how to keep talking if Isak didn’t say anything back, but maybe they could enjoy each others silence.

So Even said nothing, and tried to casually lean his back against one of the stalls to appear at ease.

Outside, the wind picked up and they listened to it sweeping past the windows. The next couple of minutes were spent like this, Even against the wooden stall in his blue hoodie, his eyes on Isak who continued to stare at Even from his windowsill, looking less and less afraid every time Even breathed out.

Then, as Isak apparently had made the decision to trust Even, he straightened up and hovered ever so slowly toward where Even was standing. Goosebumps ran over Even’s arms and spine as the air turned a little colder around him, and he pushed himself off the stall in order to stand up tall. When Isak reached him they were eyelevel, Isak’s feet a couple centimetres above the tiled floor. The warm breath leaving Even’s mouth affecting Isak a little as he fluttered his eyelashes as the air passed through him.

Even held his breath a little more, still afraid to scare the other off.

Then the ghost spoke, ever so softly.

“I am.”

Isak’s voice, directed at him and so close sounded even better than it did in the prefects’ bathroom, and Even couldn’t think clearly.

“What?”

“Isak. I’m Isak.”

“Oh.” Even swallowed. “Hi-”

“Hi.” Isak returned this time, a hint of a smile on his beautiful lips.

The air was still so pregnant with tension Even’s mind was completely blank. He had him, the boy he had been thinking about for the past weeks, annoying all his friends with his infatuation, and now he didn’t know what to say.

To Even’s ever-growing surprise, disproving what he had thought Isak to be like, the other spoke first.

“What are you doing in a girls bathroom so late?”

It took Even aback, washed over him like the water in the Black Lake.

“Uh- I was looking for you.”

“I am neither a girl nor do I need to use bathrooms.”

“Eh… Well I just thought about Myrtle and how she used to be here all the time, and then I thought you could have a thing for bathrooms, just like I saw you the other day was also in a bathroom-“ He was rambling.

“Even, I was joking.” Isak said, a playful glint in his eyes. It suited him so much better than the scared look he had earlier. “You’re right that I like to spend my time here.”

“I’m really glad I found you.” Even whispered in a softer tone than before, as if he was unable to admit it otherwise.

Isak had a pensive, almost hesitant look on his have as his eyes roamed over Even’s face. “And I think I don’t mind you finding me here tonight.”

When all the tension was finally gone, Even realised how tired he actually was, and a yawn overtook him.

“Will you meet me here again another time?” He asked. Isak nodded. “Then I think I should be heading to bed now.” Isak smiled and nodded again.

Even slowly backed up to the door of the bathroom, never taking his eyes off of Isak. When he reached the door, he took a deep breath. “Bye, Isak.” He said almost soundlessly.

Isak didn’t respond again, but this time Even didn’t mind so much. He turned around and started walking toward his common room, his limbs felt sore as he slowly put one foot in front of the other.

For a second time that evening, Isak’s presence startled him.

“The parrot is deaf.”

Even turned around abruptly. Isak hovered in the middle of the hallway.

“What?”

“It’s the answer to the door’s riddle.” Isak smiled and moved closer to the window. “I was there earlier, through the glass. Goodnight, Even.”

With that, Isak dove through the window, leaving the figure on the stained glass looking back at Even before closing his eyes again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> anybody watch skam nl? Its the only skam adaptation i'm watching but i really like it so far! 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	3. School broom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The meeting with Isak makes Even lie to his friends. His curiosity takes him to the Lake this time, but not in a way you would think.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mentions of injury, nothing explicit.

His chance meeting with Isak doesn’t make Even less of an idiot. Yes, they had agreed to meet again, but when? It could be the immediate day after, or Even could be waiting another month before seeing him again. 

The next morning Even had barely slept. Isak’s voice kept dancing in his head as Even tossed and turned, unable to close his eyes without seeing the ghost in front of him. There was something unusual about Isak, the way his form seemed to ripple like water. Even had not seen it in any of the other ghosts. He didn’t have bright colours like Peeves did, but he had some darker, blue-ish undertones to his skin that other ghosts didn’t have. It could be the water, Even thought. Some ghosts haunt physical places, maybe Isak haunted the water in Hogwarts.

Curious, Even thumbed through the books on ghosts he had borrowed from the library again. 

“A ghost is the transparent, three-dimensional imprint of a deceased witch or wizard,” Even mumbled as he scanned the pages, he’d read almost everything already, but there must be something he had overlooked because Isak was unexplained. He read on, but there was little about whether a ghost could have colour. They appeared greyish-silver, and had no physical impact. Even hadn’t tested that last part, but he’d seen Isak move through glass windows repeatedly. His favourite way of exit, as it seemed. 

There was a lot on ghosts haunting certain places, often their place of death. A single room, or object was used to bind ghosts to that spot, but that didn’t make sense for Isak, he had been in different rooms. Above all, there was nothing stated that the appearance of those ghosts differed from regular ghosts. 

Even rubbed his temples and shut both books. The sun had just about risen, and it was time for breakfast. He met Mutta in the common room; he was pulling bits off his quill while hunched over his due homework. 

“Can I please copy some stuff off your Moonstone essay?” He lifted his eyes off the parchment and stared at Even, the red veins in his eyes screaming for sleep. 

“Sure, just make it a bit different because I already copied from Yousef.” He handed Mutta his homework. “Do you want me to bring up some toast?” 

“Fuck, Even I could kiss you right now.” Mutta’s shouldered relaxed as he held onto Even’s essay as if it just saved his life, eyes roaming over Even’s messy handwriting. Even chuckled, patting his friend on the head. 

On the little amount of sleep he had gotten that night, Even’s feet carried him slowly to the Great Hall where the rest of his friends had gathered around a table. 

“Morning!” Elias’ grin greeted him as he sat down. “Where were you last night? I didn’t even hear you come in.” Four pairs of eyes stared back at him as Even reached for some toast. 

“Yeah I was- eh…” He loaded a plate with toast and various fruits for Mutta, deciding whether he would lie or not. “Refining my essay in the library.” If he told the truth he would never hear the end of it, even though he felt uneasy doing so. “I just gave it to Mutta to copy so…” 

“Is everyone just handing in my essay, then?” Yousef exclaimed. 

Snickering, everyone turned to their breakfast to avoid giving any answers. 

\+ 

As everyone eventually got up and left for their classes, Yousef hung back and waited for Even to finish eating. 

“You weren’t in the library, I was there until Madam Pince locked up.” 

Even sat staring at his plate like a deer in headlights. 

“Why were you there so late, I thought you had finished your essay?” He asked with a small voice. 

“Don’t change the subject, Even, you went to the ghost, didn’t you?” 

Even swallowed, his toast unbearably dry. No lie went past Yousef, he should have known.

“Yeah…” 

Yousef was silent, inching just a little closer to Even so no one could eavesdrop. “Well?” Even felt him nudge his shoulder a little. “How was it?” 

Surprised, Even looked up.

“It was terrifying. He is so… so-” He gestured with his hands, looking for the words to describe Isak. “We mostly just stared at each other, but eventually we talked, even though I didn’t expect him to talk. He’s funny.”

“Funny?”

“Yeah, I don’t know. I was so surprised he was even there to begin with, so my mind was blacked out during most of our conversation and he made fun of me.”

Yousef looked at him weirdly.

“Well, not really. He just joked about meeting in a girls’ bathroom of all places. All I could do was stare back. He’s beautiful.” It slipped out of him before he could hold his tongue. 

“Beautiful. Even come on, I thought you were a Ravenclaw. Don’t be dumb right now. He’s unavailable. By that I don’t mean he’s seeing Myrtle or whatever, he’s unavailable because he’s dead, Even.” 

“I know! Trust me, I know. It just felt so… The tension felt so good, Yous, I can’t explain it. I was led to that bathroom without thinking, and there he was. As big as this castle is, he was there, and he wasn’t afraid of me. He felt so natural to me, even when we weren’t talking.”

“How old is he?”

“I didn’t ask.”

“When did he die? How did he die?”

“I didn’t ask that either.”

“So you barely know him-”

“I don’t need to know how he died to get to know him, he’s not his death. He has a soul, he is a soul.”

“Just be careful, okay?” Yousef’s face had gone from excited to concerned.

“Sana said so too.”

“I’m sure she did, all the more reason to listen.”

+

Later that evening the weather was really nice for a change, so Even decided to go to the open Quidditch practice. Sana, Elias and Yousef were all on the team and had been nagging the rest for over 4 years to join them. Even wasn’t the most comfortable on a broom, but he liked the thrill it gave him to fly freely. 

He didn’t have his own broomstick, his parents never allowed him to have one as it was ‘too dangerous’, and so he used one of the school brooms. They were fine, a little stiff, but he wasn’t going to complain. 

“Yo Even, bring that thing up to speed a little, we’re trying to play a game here!” Elias barked at him from across the field. 

Tossing the Quaffle to his left hand, then his right again, he looked around briefly for members of the opposite team. They were closing in on him quickly. Even darted forward and flung the Quaffle at Sana, who was in a good position to throw it through one of the hoops. 

The game went on for a little while. The makeshift Ravenclaw team Even was in played against the actual Hufflepuff team, so naturally they didn’t stand a chance. Still, Even had a lot of fun, and he even scored once. 

There was a turning point in the game where Elias and Sana’s teamwork was so organised they scored three times in a row. Even cheered and ascended higher and higher while following the other celebrating members of his team. He’d been on his broom for a long time now, and felt confident to let go with both of his hands to give Elias a high ten. 

“That was awesome dude!”

“Yeah? You want to finally join the team?” Elias laughingly asked him while clapping his hands against Even’s. 

“I’ll think about it.” Even lowered his hands again but when he was about to grab hold of his broom handle again it wasn’t there. His broom had shifted quickly and suddenly Even was grabbing air. He lunged forward and only caught himself seconds before he would completely lose his balance.

“Wha-” Then he stared falling. His heart seemed to lunge out of his chest as it tried to keep up with the shock. It was as if the spell on his broom had broken and it had lost its ability to fly. Even let out a startled scream as he watched the ground get closer at a rapid speed. He closed his eyes and prepared for impact, but then the broom changed course violently. 

The rest of the players were shouting all sorts of different things at him. To let go, or cast a spell, but all Even could do was hold on tighter. His feet dangled beneath him without any control over the brooms movements, and after a while Even dared open his eyes a little bit. 

He was already far away from the Quidditch pitch, and the water of the great lake loomed in front of him. In a moment of clarity, where his heart had found a rhythm again, Even tried to exert some sort of control over his broom to stop it from getting closer to the water. It worked partially. 

Instead of heading for the lake at record speed, Even somehow managed to get it to slow down. His broom fought back as he tried to desperately get it closer to the ground as well, but that wasn’t working. It seemed to spasm underneath him, turning and spinning erratically until it got too much. There were splinters in his fingers from holding onto the wood so firmly, and it stung painfully. When his first hand lost it’s grip he knew it was too late, and he lost the little control he had over the broom. When it almost reached the lake, Even’s second hand was in too much pain to hold on on it’s own.

It was about 7 meters to the ground, and the fall was almost peaceful. Even watched his broom plunge into the black water of the lake, leaving a small ripple on the still surface. Then everything turned dark.


	4. A glass smile

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even wakes up and gets brought to the hospital wing, there he meets the one who found him after his fall

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Isak has appeared as a stained glass figure before this chapter, and I just wanted to note that this may not be something ghosts do in the canon Harry Potter universe, but here it's entirely possible. 
> 
> I hope you like this chapter!

It was dark around him and the moon was out, it wasn’t before. Before? 

Oh right, before the fall. 

His mind was still a little blurry, but he vaguely registered someone tugging at him and slapping his cheek softly. 

“Even!” It was Adam’s voice. 

He groaned, it was the most he could do. His face was turned sideways with one cheek flat on the hard surface of the ground. He couldn’t open his left eye. At first there was a dull pain in his legs and chest, but the more he regained consciousness the more it started to sting. He groaned again, this time from the pain. 

“I think he’s awake.” He heard someone else say, but he couldn’t place the person the voice belonged to. It was a male voice, and it came from somewhere above him. If only he could open his eye. It was plastered shut with a dried substance and Even was really afraid it was his blood. His breath picked up in anxiousness. 

“Can you carry him?” It was Adam again. Even didn’t fully register what that meant before he was hauled off the floor with a large swing. He heard a wailing sound that was probably coming from his own mouth. 

“I’ll get ‘im to Madam Longbottom.” That was definitely Hagrid. The heat coming from his body is was a nice change to the cold stone his body was on just a minute ago, and he drifted in and out of consciousness on the way to the Hospital Wing. 

+

He woke up a little while later in a hospital bed, his legs and arms all covered in cloth. The air had a weird, unknown stench that was probably from the potion Madam Longbottom had used. His eyes opened fine again and he saw it was midday. The pain was a lot less. 

“You scared the living shit out of us, you know that?” 

Mikael was sitting on the edge of the bed and Even slowly turned his head toward him. His muscles felt like he hadn’t used them in years. Behind Mikael stood the rest of his friends, all sporting looks of different levels of concern. Yousef was the worst. 

“Mr Næsheim, it’s best if you keep still, you broke a lot of your bones and your wounds are still healing.” 

Hannah Longbottom had only been the school nurse for a couple years after Madam Pomfrey retired. She was as loved by the students as her husband. 

“How long?” His voice was hoarse. 

“You’ve been here for a day, and you’ll need to rest for at least a week.” The nurse applied some fresh cloths on his legs and revealed the bruised and damaged skin underneath. Even swallowed, it would be a long week. “I’ll get you some food.” She manoeuvred through Even’s friends who had formed a wall along his bedside. 

“What happened man?” Elias asked. He was leaning on the end of the bed with his elbows while he dragged his eyes away from Even’s wounds. 

“I-” He coughed. Mikael handed him a glass of water immediately and Even downed it right away. “I don’t know. It wanted to go to the lake, apparently. Did you find the broom?” Even asked. The last think he had seen was the school broom plunging into the water of the Black Lake. 

Mutta shook his head. “Didn’t see it when we found you.” 

“Who found me, how did you find me?” Even asked. 

The boys exchanged some long looks, each waiting the other out to determine who would tell him. “We tried to look for you the moment you were gone, but you were no where to be found.” Elias said. 

It was dark outside when he had woken up from Adam’s voice. “How long was I out then, how long did it take you to find me?”

“We didn’t.” Elias admitted. Another look was exchanged between his friends. 

“It was Isak.” Mutta admitted with a small voice. Even heard Yousef swallow nervously. 

“He came to get Adam and I from the dormitory, said you were in danger. We ran as fast as we could.” 

Even’s mind was stuck. He stared at Mutta with an open mouth until he started talking again. 

“I thought you were dead, you looked terrible. Isak begged me to take you to the hospital wing, so I got Hagrid and he carried you there.”

“Yeah, I was awake.” Even cast his eyes down. 

“You were lucky he was there.” Someone said.

“Yeah…” 

Isak had been there, he’d seen Even like that, broken on the ground. Even felt terrible. The thought of him being dead played in his mind for a bit. What if he and Isak could feel each other then? 

“Earth to Even!” Adam’s voice brought him out of his thoughts. Thoughts he shouldn’t be having. 

“Hm.” He looked up again. 

“You didn’t tell us you met him again. Yousef told us about the bathroom.”

Even looked at Yousef, a guilty expression on his face for a split second. 

“Yeah it was- it was just coincidence. As you said, I was lucky he was there this time as well.” 

Even really wanted to be alone. Mikael seemed to sense it and he lightly clasped Even’s wrapped hand. “Just get better okay, we’ll interrogate you later.” 

Even nodded numbly. One by one his friends walked out of the hospital wing until Even was alone. He took a deep breath and dared lifting one of his hands to look underneath a bandage. The skin was a little inflamed but his bruises and cuts looked almost healed. Good thing there was magic. 

His mind drifted to Isak again while he was lying in the bed in an empty hospital wing. A million questions haunted his mind, and without answers he started speculating quickly. If Isak found him near the lake it means he must have been nearby, or he had followed Even from the Quidditch field. Even thought back to Sana’s story about Vilde having an accident near the lake a year ago, and how Isak did the same thing back then. The lake was his home, without a doubt, and he almost never left it except out of necessity. And to visit Even, once. 

What if- his thoughts took a wrong turn- what if Isak had visited Even just to drag him into the lake afterwards. What did Even know about the boy? Only that they would meet later, and for all Even knew that could mean meeting on the bottom of the lake. No- Isak didn’t strike him as, well, evil. 

Even’s thoughts were interrupted by Madam Longbottom, who carried a big tray of food over to his bed. 

“Eat. You must be starving.” There was pumpkin soup, bread, potatoes, broccoli, and lots more stuffed onto his plate. When the smell hit his nose, Even realised how hungry he was, and started stuffing bread into his mouth. The nurse chuckled to herself, pleased with his reaction. 

“Your friends gave me some books that you were reading, as well as your schoolwork, I’ll leave those here.” She sat a stack of books and scrolls on his bedside table. “I will be checking up on you later, try to rest.” 

Even nodded and moved onto the chicken legs on his plate, biting into them eagerly. The thoughts he was having about Isak gone for now. 

+

When his plate was empty and the tray pushed to the side, Even took in the big stack of homework he had beside him. He picked up the first piece of parchment, Herbology. They had to write a short essay on how to extract Snargaluff pods, step by step. 

Sighing, Even got to work. It wasn’t his favourite subject, but he wasn’t having any trouble with it. He found a quill between the rest of the scrolls and used one of the books to provide him with a flat surface to write on. They’d extracted the pods last week, so he had little trouble writing about it from memory. 

After a while a shiver ran down his spine and he looked up to check if it was getting darker outside. He had no idea he had been working on it for so long. When his eyes found the window opposite of him, he was surprised by the figure portrayed in it. He swore it hadn’t been there before. 

The corners of Even’s mouth turned up slightly as he realised the figure was staring at him, green eyes meeting his blue ones. The boy was leaning against the edge of the window, his hunched back straightening as he noticed Even looking at him, and a small smile appeared on his lips. 

“Don’t move.” Even whispered. He wanted to savour this for as long as possible, create a spot for Isak in his memory. 

Isak nodded slightly, and mouthed ‘okay’. His lips were a soft pink and his cheeks grew red as he blushed. Sandy blonde hair sat on top of his head, and Even’s heart skipped a beat. This was what Isak looked like, what he really looked like, instead of the cold blue form he had normally. He wore a dark green jumper with a silver stripe running along the middle, and a simple pair of light brown pants. With it he wore long boots that covered his knees slightly. 

“Can I come out now?” Even heard the distant voice and nodded. Slowly Isak detached himself from the window he was in and his usual ghost form hovered toward Even’s bed until he was seated cross-legged at the end of the bed, never really touching the covers. 

“I’ve never seen you like… that before.” Even said with a smile. Isak smiled back and this time Even had to imagine the blush on his cheeks, but he knew it was probably there. “Thank you, for saving me.”

It made Isak look at him with big eyes. “I didn’t save you, Mutta and Adam did.” 

“But you went to get them, when you found me. So again, thank you.” 

“No problem.” He said, almost inaudibly. “You look better.” 

“Yeah, the nurse put some pretty strong potions on me.” He chuckled, lifting his arms to show Isak all his bandages. 

“I’m glad you didn’t… die.” Even could see how Isak struggled to talk about this, and he couldn’t blame him. He nodded quickly and averted his gaze, thinking back on what he was thinking about before. Isak could have never caused his fall on purpose, and Even felt terrible for the thought merely appearing in his mind. 

“Let’s not talk about me, I bet you know all about me since you’re in every window I see lately.” He teased.

“I’m not a stalker.” Isak said. 

“I know, I just want to hear about you a bit, you’re a mystery to me, Isak.” 

Isak looked down at that, grabbing his sweater and nervously fiddling with it. “I don’t really talk about myself a lot.” He admitted. “Not a lot happens for me, it’s not that exciting.” 

“I’d love to hear it, though.” Even tried, sitting up a little more. 

Finally, Isak looked up again and gave Even a perplexed look, as if no one had ever said that to him before. “What do you want to hear?”

“I’m actually really curious about your boots.” He said. 

Isak stretched his legs a little, dipping beneath the surface of the bed. It looked really strange, having him disappear partly, but it seemed normal to Isak. “They’re my Quidditch boots, actually.” 

“Quidditch? Why would you wear those?” 

“Well I can’t exactly take them off, now can I?” Isak laughed. 

“Oh.” Even mentally kicked himself in the shins. “Right. Of course.”

“It’s okay, Myrtle teases me with them too.” 

“So you played Quidditch then, what position?”

“I was a seeker, I wasn’t very good, though.” Isak smiled painfully and Even felt a pang in his heart. 

“Did you have an accident?” He asked, carefully. He had no idea if this was a sensitive subject for Isak to talk about. 

“I had many accidents, but it’s not why I’m- yeah.” 

“We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.” 

“No! It’s fine, I just never talk, that’s all.” Isak averted his eyes for a moment and seemed to collect himself again. Then he started talking. 

“It was around the same time as now, only a lot colder. Winters were a bit stronger then. We had a match early in the morning, us against Gryffindor. I was in Slytherin, maybe you saw from the jumper.” Isak patted his chest. 

“Yeah, I saw.” Even was surprised to hear Isak had been in Slytherin, but made no comment on it. 

“We were doing pretty good, and I believe we could have won, but I never found out. I don’t think the match ended, to be honest… Anyway, about half an hour in, I thought I saw the snitch, so I immediately jumped on it. I chased it for a very long time, before I realised it wasn’t actually the snitch.” 

Isak’s voice had grown a little quieter, and he was shivering a bit. 

“Then I noticed where I was, not far away from where you fell actually. Only I was already above the water. I stopped and watched the pretend-snitch float away from me toward the land, where they were standing. It was a group of boys, a few of my housemates actually. They always tormented me, so I figured that day was no different.” 

Tears were streaming down Isak’s face, but it didn’t look like he acknowledged them.

“One of them grabbed their wand and cast a spell in my direction, and then I couldn’t move. I heard was someone calling my name, it was my friend Jonas. He had stolen a broom from a Quidditch player and went after me. He was a bit too late though. I believe I drowned.” 

There was silence between them, Even didn’t know how to react to that. There were tears stinging in his eyes. He opened his mouth to say something before closing it again. He noticed something odd.

Isak’s cheeks were drenched, because he had been crying, but was that even possible? Even couldn’t ask, because then he realised that not only Isak’s cheeks were drenched, but his hair and clothes as well. Water dripped off of him onto Even’s bed, which was already soaked in the spot Isak was sitting. 

The ghost’s eyes followed his line of vision and he cursed. Before Even could intervene or ask what the hell was going on, Isak was already gone, leaving behind wet sheets and a shivering Even. 

Just then, the door from the hospital flew open and Madam Longbottom walked in. Panicking, Even grabbed a glass of water and emptied it over his already wet sheets. 

“Madam Longbottom? Nurse? I spilled my water.” 

“I’ll get you some clean sheets, and please, call me Hannah.”


	5. The Quidditch registry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even gets out of the hospital, and dives right into Isak's past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a longer chapter to compensate my absence :o enjoy!

The following week in the hospital wing was rather uneventful. His friends came by a couple of times but they seemed to walk on eggshells because of their latest talk about Isak. They didn’t want to confront him with it, but Even could see it was on all of their minds as they tried to talk about other things. 

Isak didn’t visit again. So Even laid in his bed, bored out of his mind, constantly thinking about him. 

The window Isak had appeared in quickly became the subject of Even’s attention throughout the day, as he replayed their moment in his head countless times. He had looked so beautiful in that window, the soft light of that evening shining through him making his skin glow and his eyes shine. The green, that matched his illuminated jumper, had tilted Even’s world upside down. He hadn’t known seeing Isak like this could make him be so much more attracted to the boy, but it did, and Even’s cheeks burned whenever he thought about making Isak blush under his stare. 

That view, and how Isak had told Even his story so openly, without guarding himself, almost overshadowed the shock Even felt when he had fled from him so suddenly. Almost. 

Where had that water come from? Never had he seen something like that before. The most physical impact ghosts could have was turning flames blue and how the temperature seemed to drop in their vicinity. Leaving behind a flood wasn’t one of those, and Even couldn’t wrap his head around what that could mean. 

His thoughts about Isak were often interrupted by Madam Longbottom, who had little else to do in the hospital wing except tend to Even, the only patient there. She brought him new sheets, water, food, changed his bandages countless times whenever Even’s friends weren’t around, and talked to him about Neville, potions, Quidditch, the kitchen elves. If anything, it made him want a quick recovery even more, just to be out of the hospital wing. 

When it was finally time and Hannah removed his bandages for the last time, revealing the usual pale skin underneath, Even stretched his legs for the first time in a week and took a few tentative steps to see if anything hurt. He felt fine, his muscles were a little sore but the accident was far behind him. That evening he sat with his friends in the Great Hall as usual, and it felt really good to be back. 

His accident hadn’t gone unnoticed, and he felt a couple eyes on him during dinner. Even paid them no mind, it would be old news in a matter of days. 

“I’m glad you’re back, Even, and again, I’m really sorry for forcing you to play Quidditch.” Elias said with a face full of regret. He hadn’t stopped apologizing ever since Even woke up in the hospital wing. 

Even didn’t think it was his fault, which he told Elias over and over. Could there even be someone in Hogwarts who would do this to Even? To him it seemed far more likely it was something of a curse within the lake that had done it, or simply a malfunction in the broom itself. 

During the remainder of dinner his friends were overly nice. It was confusing and annoying, so much that Even almost called them out on it, but Mikael cleared the air quickly with one quiet comment. 

“Did you see Isak again?”

Adam had his mouth full of potatoes and nearly spat them out. It was clear the five of them had been anxious to talk about this for the whole week, and Even did not want to lie to them.

“Yes. Once.” He looked down to his plate and then up to one of the windows of the Great Hall, perhaps hoping he would see a supporting set of eyes in them. 

“We talked for a while, about the accident, and about his time in Hogwarts.”

Even’s friends looked at him with a curious expression, but didn’t interrupt. Even continued.

“He was in Slytherin, and he played in their Quidditch team as a seeker. He wears his Quidditch uniform to this day, actually.” Even smiled to himself, but the mention made him uneasy. “I don’t know how I’m supposed to feel about him. When I’m with him I feel this bizarre attraction towards him. When he visited I saw him in the window, in colour. It’s impossible to explain how I felt when he stood there. And then he emerged as a ghost again, and I’m reminded of how misplaced my feelings for him are.” 

Having said it, Even heart felt a lot lighter. He looked at his friends around him and Mikael touched his arm lightly, comforting him albeit hesitatingly. 

“There’s nothing wrong with getting to know him, and spending time with him.” Mutta said then. “When we saw him for the first time we were interested as well, but I realise that was obviously not the same. What I’m trying to say is that you’re allowed to feel this way for a person Even, doesn’t matter if they’re alive or- have been alive previously.” 

Across from Even Adam nodded and patted Mutta’s shoulder. “You’re a good friend.”

“We won’t judge you, even if it felt like that before.” Yousef reassured him. “Besides that, I want to know all about your crush.” 

+

It felt good, having his friends’ support again. Even hadn’t told them everything that had happened, for example the water incident, he wanted to figure that one out for himself before he’d rope his friends into his investigation, it almost felt like an invasion on Isak’s privacy. There was already an uneasiness to the situation Even didn’t know how to explain. He felt so attracted to Isak, and when the two of them were together things just seemed to fit, but besides that there were so many mysteries and questions regarding Isak’s past. 

It was as if Even liked him in him in two different ways. In one way Even had, as Yousef had pointed out, a giant crush on him. In another way it was Isak as a ghost that made Even so curious. As much as Even wanted to say he liked Isak regardless of him being a ghost, it most definitely played a part. 

So, when Even’s curiosity got the better of him during a solo study session in the library one afternoon, he slowly made his way to the Hogwarts registry books. 

It was a section containing mostly Quidditch registries, which Even knew because Elias sometimes borrowed books from it to learn about famous players from history. Somewhere on the pages of the 40 books in the section, was an old Slytherin team from which one of the players still roamed the grounds. 

Letting his fingers trail along the books’ spines, Even wondered in what year he would have to look. A while back Adam had said Isak looked like he’d been a ghost for over a hundred years, so Even pulled out the book dating 1903 – 1913. There was a different team each year, but some players played for much longer than that, so scanning the big team photographs was easy. 

They were worlds apart from the pictures taken today. In Elias and Sana’s picture from this year they had all jumped or waved, some of the team members had pretended to throw the Quaffle at the camera. The old pictures Even was looking at now were very formal. It was a row of 7 players holding their broom, with the Quaffle and other balls neatly laid out in front of them. One or two players smiled, but most of them looked serious. Their gear was simple, a pair of gloves and the boots Even recognised as the ones Isak wore. 

Unfortunately, the first book wasn’t a hit and Even put it back on the shelf. Next, he grabbed the one going further back in time, 1893 – 1903. The pictures were a bit more grainy than in the last book, but Even didn’t find Isak in it. While closing this one too, Even looked around and scanned the windows. Did he want Isak to see this? He wasn’t there. 

Next one: 1883 – 1893. In the first five pictures Even noticed a lot of sixth and seventh years that were gradually being replaced by younger players. When he turned to the next page, the Slytherin team from 1889, Even’s breath caught in his throat as he scanned the picture. He’d found him. 

Standing next to the team’s Captain, a nervous looking Isak stared at Even from the page. His hair was a lot shorter than what he had now. He was wearing a short sleeved Quidditch shirt, and he held his battered broom stiffly in his hand. Even couldn’t help but grin, he looked so cute.

Even glanced at the scribbled text next to the photo. 

_Slytherin, 1889_  
Nicolai Magnusson (Captain, Beater), 7th year  
Isak Valtersen (Seeker), 3rd year  
William Magnusson (Keeper), 5th year  
Boris Dagelet (Beater), 6th year  
Laura Montague (Chaser), 6th year  
Magnus Fossbakken (Chaser), 3rd year  
Mahdi Disi (Chaser), 3rd year

The blond chaser was the only one smiling in the neatly formed row of players. Seeing Isak next to the others seemed unreal, and he looked out of place there. Of course Even knew that this is where he belonged, so far back in time. 129 years. But the Isak he knew and the one he was looking at now were worlds apart. 

Flipping the page revealed the teams wins and losses for that year. They hadn’t won a whole lot, probably because of the three younger players that were added to the team. Isak had caught the snitch once, in their second play against Hufflepuff. Eventually they became third. It meant that the events Even anxiously anticipated were still to come, and Even nervously thumbed to the next year. 

This time there was a small smile on Isak’s lips as he posed next to the captain. The eldest Magnusson had graduated and his brother was his replacement. The other beater had been replaced as well. Their team seemed a lot more put together, and Even saw that they were confident. 

Their scores were a bit better too, and in the first two matches Isak caught the snitch once. Their third match was against Gryffindor, but their points weren’t filled in. The rest of the tournament had only three teams competing, and Slytherin ended last. Even exhaled and leaned back in his chair, he knew what that meant. 

He scanned the rest of the book for anything on the accident, but there was nothing. Eventually he flipped back to Isak’s picture and let his thumb softly stroke the surface. The colours were a deep yellow, brown-ish, not exposed to sunlight in ages. Had no one opened this book before? It seemed as if Isak’s death was completely covered up, or hidden away from everyone. It made Even sick. 

One of the corners was bent as Even let his hand stroke the page, and he fumbled with it absentmindedly before he thought of it as kind of strange, an untouched page having a damaged corner. Curious, he pulled on it and to his surprise, the picture came loose very easily, only held on by one side. From underneath it, a note spilled out and landed on Even’s lap. 

Quickly, Even picked it up and looked at the rushed handwriting on it. 

_Isak Valtersen disappeared on 15 october 1890, his body has not been found. Rosier and Dagelet, you will be haunted until you die._

Signed _J. N. V., 1893_ , three years after Isak’s disappearance. 

Swallowing, Even slowly put the note back underneath Isak’s picture. So Isak did come back to haunt someone. Rosier and Dagelet, they were most likely the boys from Slytherin that had caused Isak’s accident. 

Then, suddenly, he saw someone approaching him. At first he thought it was Isak, and he panicked. Should he keep the book from his sight? If Isak knew how investigated Even was in his past, he would surely stop liking him. 

Covering the book with his arms a bit, he looked to the side, but it wasn’t Isak at all. It was Mikael. Even felt relieved, and released the book from his grip a bit. Doing so, he caught another glance at the Isak in the picture, and couldn’t help but also feel a little disappointed it wasn’t him. 

“What’s that?” Mikael asked. 

“Some old Quidditch registry.” He carefully closed the book and showed Mikael the cover. 

“Don’t tell me you’re suddenly interested because you had that accident, man. Should I be worried?” Mikael had a smile on his face, but his eyes were serious. 

“No, it’s not for me. Remember I told you Isak played Quidditch…” 

Mikael’s eyes grey wide and he motioned for Even to give him the book. Even handed it to him, making sure the note didn’t fall out. Mikael opened the book and went through the pictures in the same way Even had done before. 

“Dude, this is from 1888!” His friend let his finger trail the set of names next to the picture. It was from the year before Isak had joined, so there were a lot more older players. Suddenly Even recognised one of the names from the note, Boris Dagelet. 

He stopped Mikael from flipping the page and looked at the 5th year Beater in the photo. He had short dark hair combed back and he stood a good 10 centimetres above everyone else. Cold eyes bore into Even’s from the picture. He shuddered, this was the guy responsible for Isak’s death. 

“What is it, he isn’t this one, right?” Mikael asked. 

“No, it’s- I’ll explain later.”

Mikael flipped to the first page with Isak in it. As soon as he saw Isak’s name in the list of names he looked up at Even. 

“He’s really real.” He whispered.

Even frowned. “Of course he is real, why would you think I’d lie about someone like him.” 

“Sorry, I know you wouldn’t. It’s just that I’ve never actually seen him before.” Mikael sighed and looked at the picture. 

“So, third year huh? Isn’t that a bit young?” 

“This is just his first year in the team.” Even said, looking at the young and nervous Isak on the page again. He felt a blush on his cheeks. 

“Is he the smiling one?” Mikael asked. 

“No, he’s here, next to the Captain.” Even pointed at the Seeker.

Mikael smiled a little as he noticed Even’s flustered look, and he looked at where Even was pointing. 

“Yeah… He’s cute. Totally you type, too.” 

Even huffed, and quickly turned the page. Mikael couldn’t be more right, though. “Here he is again, as a fourth year.” 

“Cool.” Mikael pulled the book toward him to study the picture better. “This is so weird though, knowing he’s a ghost now, like you know something you’re not supposed to know even though it happened ages ago.” 

Even hummed in agreement. Mikael flipped the page again, to the picture of the 1891 team, expecting to see Isak again. But the new team consisted of seven other people, as if the whole 1890 team was just wiped from memory. 

“Shit.” Mikael whispered, and he flipped back to the previous picture. “He was, what, 15 years old?” 

“Yeah. He’s been 15 for over 128 years.”

Mikael sagged in his chair, his eyes cast downward. “Did he talk to you about what happened?” 

Even nodded, and pulled the picture from the page with slightly shaking hands. The note appeared from underneath it and he grabbed it. “He drowned in the lake because of two other Slytherin students.” 

Mikael mouthed the words of the note, and his eyes widened. “That’s horrible. Do you think that they’re dead, and that’s why we only saw Isak at Hogwarts now?” 

Even shrugged, “Isak doesn’t seem like he would haunt someone to their deaths. Maybe it’s just what this person wanted him to do.” 

“J. N. V., do you know who that is?” Mikael asked. 

“Isak never mentioned someone with those initials.” 

“Maybe you could ask him?” 

“I don’t know when I’ll see him again, we didn’t really set a date or anything. I also don’t know if he’ll appreciate me digging up his past.”

With that, Mikael put the note back where it belonged and closed the book. He held it out to Even. “Then let’s just focus on the present. He’s still here, in a way.” 

Even smiled at his friend and nodded, before placing the book back on it’s shelf. 

+

That night he sneaked into the girls’ bathroom again in the hopes of seeing Isak. He needed Isak to know he didn’t have to be afraid or embarrassed after the water incident the other night. 

When he arrived it was already pitch black outside, and the bathroom was cloaked in a gloomy October glow. Even shivered and pulled the sleeves of his jumper over his hands. A hunched figure of a ghost was perched on one of the benches underneath the window. 

“Hey.” Even broke the silence that permeated the air. 

Isak looked up and was in front of him in no time. “Thank God you’re okay.” He lifted his hands as to hold Even’s head in them, but he changed his mind quickly and let his hands fall to his sides. 

“I missed you in the hospital the last few days.” Even didn’t know what to do with his hands either because for the first time he really felt the need to hold Isak. 

“I didn’t want to flood the place again… I’m sorry.” Isak stood so impossibly close. 

“Was it because of me, of what I asked you to tell me?” Even asked. 

“No,” Isak moved to the windowsill, “It’s just something that happens to me whenever I’m not near water. In here, I can stay as long as I want, just like the lake and the other bathrooms. It limits the places I can be in quite a bit, but I don’t really mind.” 

“Then I’ll just have to keep visiting you here.” Even smiled, and took the spot next to Isak. He wondered if this phenomenon had anything to do with Isak drowning, but he didn’t want to bring that up. 

Instead, they spoke of other things. Even discovered Isak’s favourite subject, Herbology, and Even told him all about his friends. Whenever Isak laughed, the crinkles at the corner of his eyes warmed Even’s heart. 

After a while Isak started flooding over again, and they had to migrate to one of the toilets. It was a comical sight, Isak with his elbows on the unused toilet seat with Even sitting cross legged on the floor in front of him. They laughed whenever Even would pretend to flush Isak down the toilet, and the ghost stayed with him instead of fleeing. He even came back after Even accidentally did flush him away. 

They talked until Even couldn’t possibly keep his eyes open any longer. 

“I have to go.” He said to Isak as he was standing up, who nodded just like the first time they were here. He climbed out of his toilet and faced Even. 

“Sleep well.” It was a whisper that seeped deep into Even’s bones. 

“I’ll see you soon, okay?” 

Isak nodded again. 

Neither of them wanted to turn away, but there was nothing else to do. No hugs, no kisses. Even could feel Isak wanted it just as much as he, but that was hardly a reassurance. Instead, they looked at each other just a while longer, before Even yawned again and they nodded at each other silently, accepting their fate. 

On his way back to the Ravenclaw common room he kept seeing Isak in the windows, accompanying him. And when Even got scolded by the entrance door for being so late, it was Isak’s laugh that filled the space.


	6. McGonagall's office

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even has a class from McGonagall and things about the accidents and Isak come up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It starts getting intense! Please look at the added tags as this story gets a little darker

The next morning, Even had slept better than he had in days. His first class was Transfiguration, and he felt more than ready to make up all the lessons he screwed up. After breakfast, he and Yousef made their way down the classroom and they’re surprised it’s not their usual professor standing in front. 

“Good morning, everyone.” Headmistress McGonagall announced. “I’ll be filling in for professor Patil this week as she is on a research trip to Bosnia.” She waved her wand and a set of parchments began distributing themselves around the classroom. 

Even and Yousef sat down and began their lesson, feeling extra motivated to do good today because they were facing the Headmistress. About halfway through an attempt at Crinus Muto wherein Yousef’s eyebrows regrettably didn’t change colour, one of the Gryffindor students, Even believed her name was Ellie, raised her hand. 

“Miss, can I ask a bit of an unrelated question?” She hesitatingly said. 

McGonagall nodded, and the class stilled. “Go ahead, miss Cattermole.”

“Do you know anything about the curse on the Black Lake?” 

Even almost dropped his wand that was pointed at Yousef, and immediately turned his attention to what McGonagall was going to say. 

The Headmistress closed her eyes for a second before replying. “There is no confirmed curse on the Lake, I’m sure you’re referring to the accidents happening there?” 

Ellie nodded, and cast her eyes on Even for a moment before looking back at their teacher. He frowned.

“We don’t know what caused these accidents to happen, so we can’t confirm anything. Although it may be best to stay away from the lake for the time being.”

“I heard a curse breaker was coming to Hogwarts.” Another voice called, from the back of the class. 

“That is but a rumour, as of now there is no curse breaker involved.” The Headmistress walked back to the front of the class rather sternly, and no one dared ask any more questions. 

Only Even had to, he couldn’t just let this slip away. 

“Does it have anything to do with the disappearance of a student a hundred years ago?” 

McGonagall turned, and a couple people gasped from this new information. 

“Not to my knowledge.’ She turned Even down completely. “Please join me in my office after class, mister Bech Næsheim.” 

If the stares were bad before, they were unbearable now. His head was as red as a beet. He should have never brought it up, but her reaction showed she knew something. It showed that it was something Even wasn’t supposed to know, wasn’t supposed to ask questions about. 

He was nervous for what was awaiting him in her office, but also hopeful for new information on Isak’s mystery. 

+

“Even, may I ask you how you came about the information you have?” 

They were alone in the Headmistress’ office. She stood next to her desk while Even hovered nervously before her at the bottom of the stairs. 

“I don’t think I can tell you…” He hesitated, he couldn’t compromise Isak’s privacy for his own curiosity. It had already gone too far when he had asked McGonagall about him, but he couldn’t go back now. 

“Very well, I understand.” She responded very calmly, much to Even’s surprise. “To answer your question, I don’t know if that particular disappearance has anything to do with what’s happening right now. There seems to be little correlation except location.” 

Even looked up at her with big eyes. “You know what happened?”

She nodded once, placing her fingers lightly on some documents on the desk. “I do. It’s a very delicate subject matter here in Hogwarts, so you should consider yourself lucky you happened to ask me about it. I will tell you what I know, but you have to be very careful with this information.” She had a serious look in her eye while she looked at him. 

With clammy hands, he nodded in understanding. He hadn’t imagined he would be in a situation like this where the Headmistress would tell him about the circumstances regarding Isak’s disappearance, but there he was getting more nervous and excited as it was happening. 

“I won’t ask again how you know this, but I do want to know how much you know about it.” She carefully started opening the old looking documents she had on her desk. 

“I know that in 1890 a Slytherin boy disappeared during a Quidditch match, I know it happened by the lake and I know his name is Isak Valtersen.” 

She hummed and beckoned him over. 

“These are Isak’s student records. Normally they are kept in Filch’s office, but Trimble, then Headmaster, had them brought up to this office after the incident. We can only guess why he decided to do it, but there isn’t much left of it.”

She showed him the file, which stated Isak’s name, status and house. All else, his accomplishments and grades, Quidditch matches and so on, were poorly blanked out by magic. 

“Why?” Even asked.

“We believe it was out of embarrassment. I’ve only heard stories passed along from the older professors, but Valtersen didn’t have an easy time in Hogwarts. You must remember it was a very different time back then, but that doesn’t make this any more justifiable. He was bullied for who he liked, because he was different in that way. People found out, and when he had his confrontation with those Slytherin boys, the school chose their side.” 

Even couldn’t believe his ears. “They weren’t expelled?” He all but exclaimed. 

“No.” McGonagall voice was small. “Of course, looking back, it’s horrible, but as bad as they were, those were the times. Unfortunately, there is nothing we can change about the situation, no matter how much we want to set things right. It’s a dark spot in Hogwarts history, and Isak did not deserve to die so unprotected.” 

There were tears forming in Even’s eyes as he listened to McGonagall talk. Isak died because he liked boys, because he was gay. 

“I-” Even’s head suddenly felt so heavy and he buried his hands in his hair. A sob escaped from his lips. 

“Even.” It wasn’t McGonagall’s voice that said it. Tears spilled over as he heard it. 

“It’s okay, Even.” Isak stood high above them in one of the windows, barely illuminated as it was already dark outside. 

“No, no, no… This will never be okay.” Even looked up and forgot McGonagall was still in the room. “How could they do this to you?” 

“It was my mistake, they found out because I was careless.” 

“But they shouldn’t have gotten away with it, Isak, they’re the bad guys.” 

After he’d said it McGonagall let out a small “Oh.” and looked at Isak with wide eyes. Isak paid her no mind. 

“No, I’m the bad guy. It’s my own fault I’m like this now.” Isak faded away even more, becoming smaller and smaller in the stained glass. 

Even was crying, and stepped closer to the window as not to lose Isak in it. “No, Isak, you’re-” But Even couldn’t finish his pleading sentence. 

There was a knock on the door, and Isak was already gone as Filch appeared in the doorway. 

“There’s been another accident at the Lake, ma’am.”

**Author's Note:**

> I am [nipsus](http://nipsus.tumblr.com) on tumblr,
> 
> please leave a comment if you had any particular thoughts about this!


End file.
